Business Development Centre launches ‘Entrepreneurship 2020’ for SME program

The Business Development Centre, commonly known as BDC has launched a new platform to empower Sri Lankan SMEs in collaboration with World Bank’s private sector development arm International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Since 1999 BDC has catered to nearly 25,000 SMEs providing an outstanding contribution to create an entrepreneurial culture in Sri Lanka. BDC together with IFC introduces a highly result oriented business management training package called ‘Business Edge’.

This training package is being promoted through a range of national level business seminars called Entrepreneurship 2020 organised in district level. Any Government agency, NGO, financial institution and business association can request this seminar and BDC is more than happy to step in and inspire SMEs, the nation’s real economic contributors.

The first successful seminar commenced on 29 June at Roshel Gardens Hotel in Kottawa with the participation of 150 small and medium entrepreneurs.

This interactive seminar was totally free of charge and BDC consider it part of their corporate responsibility toward the SME community. The idea was to motivate and empower Sri Lanka’s SMEs by providing new management skills, technology and market access.

The seminar was filled with reflections of leading national entrepreneurs and management experts. Attendees of the seminar were registered with BDC’s Business Mentoring network and every participant received a training voucher as to take part in future training events.

In the “way forward” stage of Entrepreneurship 2020, the BDC will conduct a highly result oriented management training, Business Edge for business people which include seminars on ‘How to plan your business’, ‘How to succeed in marketing’, ‘How to cost products and how to price them’, and ‘How to increase customers and turnover’. It’ll help entrepreneurs to tremendously increase income and reduce unnecessary costs and finally to increase profitability.

Diriyadetha is the SME market access arm of BDC. It is a chain of retail outlets that directly purchase product from SMEs and sell in national and international markets. Home based micro level industries and SMEs benefit from better margins with fast cash flows, as Diriyadetha directly pay them for what they supplied to its outlets. The theme of Diriyadetha is to “enable SMEs to access better markets with higher benefits.”

Technology is a key aspect in starting and improving small and medium business. BDC offers advisory service technology information and consultancy service to SMEs island wide.

Entrepreneurs from Colombo, Gampaha, Galle and Kurunegala Districts can simply register for upcoming seminar by sending only SMS to following phone numbers, 0772367296, 0772387299.